Santa Rosa photojournalist Kent Porter on the Yolo County fireworks explosion

By Charles Swanson Santa Rosa Press Democrat Press Democrat photographer Kent Porter is accustomed to being the first journalist on the scene of latest news and he s no stranger to driving hundreds of miles to cover a story But his presence at a Yolo County fireworks warehouse explosion Tuesday was unlike any assignment he s faced before Here s how it unfolded For the veteran Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who joined the newspaper in it was supposed to be a straightforward work day He was bound for the Sacramento Valley to shoot a portrait for an upcoming news feature A fireworks distribution center in the Yolo County society of Esparto burns shortly before exploding Tuesday July Kent Porter The Press Democrat A fireworks distribution center in the Yolo County neighborhood of Esparto explodes Tuesday July Kent Porter The Press Democrat A fireworks distribution center in the Yolo County population of Esparto burns shortly before exploding Tuesday July Kent Porter The Press Democrat A fireworks distribution center in the Yolo County district of Esparto explodes Tuesday July Kent Porter The Press Democrat Show Caption of A fireworks distribution center in the Yolo County society of Esparto burns shortly before exploding Tuesday July Kent Porter The Press Democrat Expand Drive east photograph grab a sandwich and scoot home he reported Wednesday morning The day had other plans As Porter entered Petaluma from his Santa Rosa start point a brush fire ignited so he stopped shot a limited photos and a video Thankfully for residents around the Block of Petaluma Boulevard North the half-acre Oak Fire which sparked just after noon was expeditiously put out But Porter was already behind schedule After leaving Petaluma and navigating the eternal mess of Highway along the northern edge of San Pablo Bay Porter made it to Interstate headed east still hoping for smooth sailing to his assignment Nope Just a mile out of Fairfield two vehicles collided bringing traffic to a standstill Porter was delayed again He arrived at the assignment an hour late took the photos chatted for a while then stated his goodbyes The day s scheduled task was completed Related Articles California is running out of safe places to build homes due to fires rising Seas Seven missing after warehouse storing fireworks explodes in Yolo County Judge rules California s FAIR Plan must pay smoke damage alleges Multiple wildfires break out in Contra Costa County President Donald Trump hints at possibly withholding wildfire aid to California I m a firm believer everything happens for a reason in the news gathering business Porter mentioned Delays are an integral part of being in the right place at the moment an event unfolds Porter fueled up and was on his way back to Sonoma County He still had not grabbed that sandwich Just minutes into his drive home however he saw smoke from what turned out to be a brush fire on the horizon just outside of Vacaville It was the -acre Brown Fire which at the time was threatening homes so Porter detoured and spent about half an hour making photos There he ran into Cal Fire s Boggs Mountain Helitack crew loading up to go to another fire after helping to contain the Solano County blaze I urged where and the crew fire captain mentioned Winters Porter reported What next I questioned myself Sure enough a large column of smoke was rising above the northern horizon Porter didn t hesitate He headed north on Interstate straight into the teeth of another fire Only this one would be unlike the a large number of hundreds of wildfires he s covered before Three distinct aggressive smoke columns could be seen rising from the flat valley landscape as he got closer Listening to a police scanner Porter was able to gather the larger plume was a structure fire in the town of Esparto on the western edge of the valley in Yolo County about miles northwest of Davis He was held back at first by a roadblock on Highway near Esparto and again on County Road Then he was able to find a way in to the farming region and came across a California Highway Patrol roadblock He was waved through under the strong legal allowances granted to journalists covering disasters in California No one was really saying what was on fire I just figured it was a residence with a lot of fireworks and ammunition Porter commented Boy was I wrong The structure was not a residence but a warehouse filled with July -ready fireworks Porter did not know that at the time He started by taking photos of personnel working the main fire and several spot fires that had spread across a wheat field All of a sudden Porter heard and felt three guttural explosions rock the warehouse followed by a pressure wave that hit him with stunning force The air and noise doesn t go around you it goes through you he commented A surge of adrenaline rushed through his body He checked to make sure he was not hit by shrapnel He also kept checking overhead power lines to make sure they had not become dislodged Within moments maybe minutes I returned to a calm status he declared Almost a surreal calm And he was back to shooting photos capturing what would be the first widely published images of an explosion that by Wednesday afternoon left seven people unaccounted for Porter remained on scene until wind shifted and the smoke clouded his view and way out spurring him to leave out of precaution He was still overwhelmed as he left Esparto via Highway to Highway through Lake County where he stopped to compose himself and dwell a little more on what had happened I called a couple of good friends and fellow journalists relayed my experience just to get an idea what they ve witnessed in the same type of situation he noted Good to have friends He stopped in at the Oaks Red and White Area in Clearlake Oaks The deli had closed for the day so he purchased bread sliced meat chips and pickles Made my own sandwich while taking a real good look at the images I d made choosing the the bulk impactful pictures to send for publication he reported Simple end to a complicated day On Wednesday afternoon as the toll of the calamity was coming into sharper focus he also shared his sadness at the lives affected by the accident Looking at the photos this morning he commented there s nothing left